Tab Benoit: Power of the Pontchartrain (Elite)

Bluesman Benoit teams up again with Lousiana's LeRoux, the rockin' outfit he worked with on his swamp-lightnin' album Brother to the Blues of last year which was nominated for a Grammy.

This is more of the same, but better: Benoit's guitar has a sharp and stinging quality, he digs into some Cajun-flavoured blues, and on the title track funks it up with LeRoux (who were Clarence 'Gatemouth' Brown's backing band for a long time -- see My Back Pages for my encounter with Gatemouth).

Along the way he also makes over Buffalo Springfield's For What It's Worth as a dark and menacing warning from the bayou, bends those notes and fires off some electrifying energy, and on Julie Miller's Midnight and Lonesome he turns in a powerful and spare ballad heavy with portent.

This is undeniably swamp blues from the bayou -- but with a whole lot more energy than the laidback style of Tony Joe White.

Benoit's raw vocals and angular guitar work make for a blues album of great depth, and one which rocks.

Although their name suggests they aren't making a bid for mainstream attention, this British ensemble here serve up a soundtrack album which is rather more interesting than its odd title.
As in... > Read more

What follows is Don McGlashan's speech at the Apra Silver Scroll Award in Auckland on September 13, 2012. We print it here with Don's permission and it's our privilege to do so, as much for... > Read more